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Disney’s Andi Mack Banned in South Africa

Cape Town – In Africa’s growing TV censorship problem Kenya has banned the Disney Channel’s tween series Andi Mack, making it the latest TV series that MultiChoice says won’t be broadcast on DStv – not just in Kenya but blocked for the whole of Africa.

MultiChoice and Disney won’t broadcast Andi Mack in Kenya or anywhere else in Africa – including South Africa – following news that the show will introduce a gay storyline, effectively blocking the show from being broadcast anywhere on the continent, including countries like South Africa, since the Disney Channel (DStv 303) has only one channel feed into the continent.

Andi Mack is the latest show getting banned on the continent after last week’s announcement that the main character will come out as gay, with Disney announcing that Andi Mack won’t be broadcast on DStv.

Over the past two years, especially Nigeria and Kenya’s censorship boards have been ramping up bans on TV shows.

The Walt Disney Company Africa in response saying “Andi Mack will not be broadcast through DStv, however, we are exploring alternative ways to make the series available to its fans in South Africa”.

Disney says that “while our shows are developed for global audiences we are committed to respecting each market’s cultural sensibilities, compliance rules and regulations. Disney Channel in South Africa serves multiple countries across Africa and the Middle East, each with its own regulations to which we adhere”.

Star vs the Forces of Evil and Gravity Falls from Disney XD, as well as Adventure Time and Steven Universe from Turner Broadcasting’s Cartoon Network channel in Africa, were also banned.

In May 2016 NBC Universal International Networks was forced to pull the second season of I Am Cait from E! for the entire Africa after a sudden TV-ban in Nigeria and in October 2015 Discovery Networks International was forced to remove the transgendered docu-series I Am Jazz from TLCfor the whole continent, also following a Nigeria-ordered ban.